When building up your business as a creative it's important to know how to present yourself to possible clients. Having a website allows you to differentiate yourself and show yourself as a professional legitimate business.
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Having your website with your packages and rates removes the opportunity for clients to try and barter their way into cheaper prices. If someone sends you a DM about your business asking for rates, you can kindly pass them to your website or your FAQ page on your website to remove those looking for things done for free.
No matter what industry you are in as a creative there are a few key components to creating a fantastic website that converts and makes those on it click further, thus developing the relationship between Client & Creative.
The first thing you need to know is statistics. Like the fact that someone will leave your website if it takes more than 5 seconds to load. Potential clients also spend under 15 seconds on a website before they jump ship.
This means you need to capture someones attention under 15 seconds to keep them onboard.
How to capture someone's attention immediately.
Chances are if someone is coming onto your site they are a potential client, this means that capturing their attention is vital. Contrary to popular beliefs as a photographer and model you need to just have a portfolio website with a barrage of your best work layered on every page.
After reviewing over 2000+ Online websites and stores from every niche I can say this is not the best way to go.
Having your best work mixed in while telling your story and showing your personality is the best way to immediately engage your audience. You're looking to build a connection with this person as quickly as possible so you become a person, not a business. Remember business is relationship building, those who succeed are great at creating connections. Be what you want to be but just don't come off as cold and unwelcoming to your audience.
When you have a website of just photos and a contact page, this doesn't encourage people to connect with you.
Build trust and be the expert.
Your client is putting their utmost trust and faith that you will deliver exceptional quality content, but how do you convince them you are the real deal and your other clients love you? Testimonials and Blogs. Creating 3-5 solid testimonials on your homepage solidifies any concerns with wondering if you are a fun and easy to work with individual. Adding a blog to your website with stories of what you and how you do things lets people know you are an expert in your industry and clearly the best choice to work with.
Set expectations for Clients.
As your client decides whether they want to work with you they will want to know your packages and pricing, as everyone is different and sometimes you may not have a one size fits all package you need to adapt. Creating your packages or product pages with a base price or saying "Packages starting at $$$" is important as it shows them what the bottom line is and sets expectations.
Answer common questions for your audience.
Having a bulletproof FAQ page or a mini-FAQ section on your contact page removes redundant questions coming your way all the time. It allows you to make sure that people who are tire-kicking or those who have not used your service before having their common questions or concerns answered right away so the only thing left to do is send you a message asking when you are available for a shoot.
This article was written by the staff at creators magazine. We are always looking for new ways to improve your creative life and bring you meaningful content every day.
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